It's the Beginning of a Brand New Day
It's the Beginning of a Brand New Day (新しい朝が来た, Atarashī Asa ga Kita) is the first episode of the Gantz Anime. Summary Kei Kurono: an apathetic, self-centered teenager is on his way home when he crosses paths with Masaru Kato, an old childhood friend. When a homeless man accidentally falls onto the tracks of the subway, the pair climb down to help. They save the homeless man, but are unable to get back up in time, and are gruesomely killed by the express train. They find themselves transported to a room centered around a black ball filled with other people who have recently died: a school teacher, a dog, a politician, a blond guy, two yakuza gang members, and also a mysterious young 8th-Grader named Nishi. Before long an attractive, naked girl is transferred into the room and almost becomes the victim of rape from one of the yakuza but Kato stops him. Recap In an empty apartment, a large black sphere suddenly appears in the middle of the room. The title card then displays. Next, it is shown to be pouring rain outside and we are brought to a high school. A teacher is instructing her class in mathematics. The screen pans to the right side of the room and a male student is seemingly bored, just staring out the window. Suddenly, he looks at his teacher and imaginarily undresses her. First her clothes go, and than the student makes her underwear vanish too. Completely naked in his mind, the teacher continues her lesson while the other female students are fantasized naked as well. Rubbing his legs together, the male student starts to get stiff. Before long, however, the girl sitting next to him gets the teacher's attention and blurts out to the entire class that the lecherous student, Kurono, has a hard-on. The entire class laughs at him for being "such a horn dog", though he tries to deny it. The female student dares him to stand up and prove her wrong until the teacher quiets them down, telling Kurono to save his fantasies for when he gets home. Later, while Kurono is walking home in the rain, he passes by a balding homeless man who is without an umbrella and seemingly does not take notice of him. Kurono scoffs at the bum in his head, telling him to go rest somewhere else. He continues walking until he spots a poster of an attractive girl in a bookstore window. Musing at the dirty photo, he is startled to see a young man wearing a baseball cap runing out of the store with some books under his arm. He is chased and told to come back by the owner of the store. Cursing, the owner says out loud that this is the third time this week that the shoplifter has stolen his books and tells "honey" (possibly his wife) to keep an eye on the store while he tries to catch the thief. Kurono shouts after him saying "Third time's the charm!" The scene cuts to a subway where Kurono is reading a magazine that he bought from Furuta Books, the bookstore he passed on the way home. He wonders if the rain is ever going to stop before getting annoyed that he paid so much for the book and that there are no "bush" shots. Meanwhile, a man who is seen smoking a distance away from Kurono is thinking about how someone's office is going to be closing at 5:00 PM, and that "he" is going to hide himself in his office. Behind the man, a woman sitting on a bench is desperately waiting for the train to come, thinking that she has to get home before her husband does, which leads us to assume that she might be in an affair. Another man sitting right next to her is also impatient, thinking that he won't "score" if he's late for a "meeting". A ways from him, a girl wearing ganguro makeup is checking her cellphone, saying that someone named Ryosuke won't "lay" her and go home if the train does not arrive soon. Finally, the focus shifts back to Kurono as an elderly woman approaches him with a question: she wants to know if she's at the platform that goes towards Hinode-dai. Kurono, annoyed at the woman for asking him at all, thinks that she's not at the right platform, but thinks it's too much trouble to explain it to her. Therefore, he lies and tells her that she's at the right place. Thanking him, the old woman walks away. Kurono tries to get back to reading but not before seeing a homeless man (a different one from the first time) drinking sake right in front of him. Disgusted, Kurono thinks to himself that the "wino" should stop being a slob and get a job. The ganguro girl calls him gross, while the cheating wife thinks of a way not to get stuck in the same train car as the bum. The salary man whose supposed to score finds it unbelievable that the bum can drink so carelessly in the middle of the day and the smoking man finds the man's odor so horrible that he considers shoving him onto the train tracks. The bum irritably growls at the people, telling them that he's not their for their amusement. In the meantime, the old woman appears behind Kurono again and tells him that the platform they're on isn't the Hinode-dai one. Kurono snaps at her saying that she should try finding the right platform herself instead of relying on someone else to do it for her. Instead of snapping back, the woman merely apologizes and walks off again. In his mind, Kurono says that most people just aren't worth anything to him. He looks at the salary man and the woman committing adultery, thinking that they have never thought about anything too deep in their lives. Then he focuses on the ganguro and another girl whose thoughts are not heard, saying that they're even worse than the salary man and cheating wife and that their minds are completely blank. The man whose smoking, in Kurono's opinion, is someone to keep away from, and that the bum isn't even worth "wasting the brain cells on". He is soon brought out of his thoughts my another, much taller student, who appears right next to him carrying an umbrella. A flashback soon occurs, showing a younger Kurono pedaling quickly on his bike, telling the kid behind him named Kato to hurry up. Kato calls Kurono "Kei-chan" and asks him to wait up for him. Back in the present, Kurono recognizes the other student as his old childhood friend Masaru Kato. They attended elementary school together, but mentions that Kato became a "real punk" after switching schools, and thinks that Kato won't even remember him, even if they played with each other the most in their group of friends. He comments that Kato's appearance resembles that of a thug's, completely worthless. All of the sudden, the drunken man stumbles and falls onto the tracks. The people on the platform are shocked and tell him to get up. Kurono, having saw the fall, thinks that the bum is as good as dead, since the station attendant isn't coming and that no one else is going to risk their life to save him. The cheating wife, who is in the crowd closet to the bum, thinks to herself that the bum probably slipped due to the wetness of the rain, making the platform slippery. The salary man wonders if anyone has called the station worker yet. While he is thinking this, a blonde-haired man who's also in the crowd runs off. The old lady thinks that someone should help the drunkard, while the smoker just thinks that the man is a lost cause. Ryosuke's lover is eager to see the bum die, texting Ryosuke about what will happen. The salary man, now on one knee and in the front of the group, thinks that while helping the man may be the "humane" thing to do, he reassures himself that someone will surely step in instead of him, since he's got a "mortgage" to pay. However, all of the people including the salary man think the same thing at once: if no one helps the bum soon, they'll all get to see a human body being torn to pieces. Kurono is thinking the same thing as the other people: he's excited to see someone die, saying that he's never seen anyone die outside of movies or manga. He than notices Kato getting tensed up, and is suprised that even someone like him is afraid to see someone die, but reminds himself that even as a kid Kato was pretty cowardly. Opening his eyes, Kato declares "That's it!" and jumps down on the track to the bum's rescue. Watching this, Kurono finds what his old friend is doing is ridiculous and that trying to "act cool" will just get him killed and that he can't do anything by himself. The people in the crowd also think this, as the salary man notices Kato jumping onto the tracks and the smoking man thinks that he's just going to die too. The ganguro believes that both of them will be ripped to shreds by the train while the adulteress just thinks that Kato is "kinda cute". Having reached the homeless man, Kato tries to get him up. He looks up at the people and begs them for help, but all they do is look the other way, with the salary man asking once more if anyone has gotten the station attendant yet. The cheating wife responses that someone was sure to have gotten him, but that he hasn't arrived. Kato shouts up once again, asking the people if they're just going to watch them die. The salary man thinks to himself that the man is just a bum and is generally not worth saving, with the smoker thinking that no one is foolish enough to go help. Kurono is once again thinking with everyone else, telling Kato that he's the crazy one for jumping onto the track in the first place. At that moment, Kato looks in Kurono's direction and recognizes his old friend. Flabbergasted, Kurono is freaked out when Kato calls him "Kei-chan" in front of everyone in the station, earning him their attention. With everyone peer pressuring him in their minds, Kurono decides to jump down and help against his judgment, possibly happy that his childhood friend remembered him from long ago, yet still wondering why he's even bothering to help the bum at all. As Kurono and Kato try to lift the man up, the salary man is relieved that he doesn't have to go on the track himself while the smoker just thinks that the boys have signed their death warrants. They try to lift the bum, but Kurono is offended by his bad smell. With the train almost on them, the crowd's thoughts begin to get more panicked as the announcer tells them that the train is about to arrive at the platform, one of the crowd wondering what's taking the attendant so long. Kurono feels nauseous at the idea of death and is hard-pressed to lift up the drunk. The salary man tells the two to hurry up and Kurono finally gets the bum towards the crowd, the salary man pulling him onto the platform. He shouts at the boys to climb up as well, but the train's headlights are spotted in the distance and Kurono can't muster the strength to climb. Kato tells his friend to run, but the latter tells him that it won't work. Kato's logic is this: a train slows as it reaches the station, and if they run fast enough they can make it past where the first car stops. Kurono goes along with the plan and runs with his friend, the salary man wishing them good luck. Kurono finds hope in Kato's theory, but tells him to throw away his belongings so that he can run faster. Kato refuses at first, saying that he needs to give the umbrella to his younger brother since he forgot to take it to school with him today. However, Kurono tells him that if they die there would be no point in holding onto it. Reluctantly, Kato ditches his bags but keeps onto the umbrella and continues to run. The announcements come on and tell them that the Hinode-dai express is going to be passing through the station shortly, much to the horror of the boys. They don't understand why an express would be passing through this particular station, since only local trains are supposed to do that. The train approaches rapidly, with Kurono thinking that he's going to die and the last significant thing he did was buy an adult magazine while Kato vows that he will get the umbrella to his little brother, Ayumu. He turns to Kei and asks him if he's alright, and while not saying it out loud, he responds that he's not. In fact, he's terrified at the very prospect of dying. Kato tells him to look for some kind of opening to duck into, but Kurono responds that there's nothing like that. Some of the people watching on the platform take out their phones in order to photograph the boys' deaths. As the train closes in on the two, they turn slightly to face it, with the salary man shouting that they are not going to make it. Time seems to slow down as Kurono thinks again, wondering what just happened. He sees Kato's umbrella all crumpled and flying away; than he sees Kato's severed head falling in front of him, and soon realizes that his own head has flown off, bleeding heavily and with tears in the eyes. The people watching scream in awe, horror, and disgust as the bodies are crushed by the train and the heads fly onto the platform. As his head moves past one of the girls photographing it, Kurono sees the old woman who asked him about being on the right platform. He's disgusted that Kato died, but also condemns his fate saying that he deserved it for helping the drunkard out. As his life ends, Kurono's final thoughts are "If that's the way its gotta be..." Than the eyecatcher appears. After the eyecatchers, it shows that Kurono and Kato are still running despite having died moments earlier. They are surrounded by white and soon that fades away and they find themselves in a room. They pant for a while and than look at their surroundings. They see a group of six other people and a dog staring at them. A man wearing glasses and a tie says that "There are two this time". Back in the subway, the crowd is still screaming and gasping at the deaths of the schoolboys. The bum, having just regained consciousness, wakes up to the salary worker crying tears of bitterness, angrily shouting at the homeless man that the boys died to save his life. He barfs right after this near the bum, to which the latter replies "What a mess!" Back in the strange room, the man with glasses asks the students if they "almost" died too. Kurono is confused and looks at all the other people. They consist of a well dressed man in a white suit and with a light mustache, a large-built man with a blue shirt and an unhinged look in his eyes, a white and brown-colored dog, a green-haired boy wearing something strange under his regular outfit, a blonde-haired young man with his hair in a pony-tail, and an old man wearing a hospital gown. Kurono can't understand what's going on since they were supposed to have died, but Kato is relieved just to have made it out alive, though Kurono doesn't believe him in the slightest. The old man tells them that they didn't escape death and that the place they're all in right now is Heaven. The blonde-haired guy sitting next to him tells him to shut up and that he's not one to talk. Chuckling nervously, the glasses-wearing man admits that being dead may indeed be a possible theory. The old man goes further by explaining that he was dying from cancer in the hospital, but now that he's here, the pain is completely gone. Kurono finds it hard to believe that he's dead, since he still has breath and he can hear his chest throbbing. Kato than looks out the window and sees Tokyo Tower and the rest of the city, wondering how it's possible. Kato tries to go on the balcony, but for some reason he cannot grasp the latch. His hand is repelled every time he tries and Kurono's attempts are just as futile. The man wearing glasses elaborates that they can't touch the windows or any of the walls, otherwise they wouldn't still be in the apartment. Kurono asks if they tried to make noise to get the neighbors' attention, which the man confirms, but there was no response for any of their attempts. With that, Kato runs to the front door, only for the glasses-wearing man to call out that that won't open either. The station attendants have finally arrived in the subway, but they can't find Kurono and Kato's bodies or heads anywhere. The salary man swears that he saw their heads fly off, while the ganguro and one of the other girls who photographed the heads are shocked that the heads aren't shown in the pictures they took. In the meantime, the blonde-haired man who ran and got the station attendants notices that the students' bags are still here. Shockingly, the owner of Furuta Books is examining the bags too and recognizes the logo as his own. There's a young woman there as well. Meanwhile, the glasses-wearing man gains everyone else's attention and asks that they all introduce themselves. They must state their name, occupation, and how they died. He barely finishes his sentence before the blonde-haired man interjects, telling the older man that he sounds like a teacher. The latter confirms that he is indeed a teacher and volunteers to go first. He introduces himself as Masashi Yamada, and he is an elementary school teacher who teaches first grade at Nerima Higashi Elementary School, and that he died while having an accident with his scooter. Gesturing to Kurono, Yamada asks him to go next. Though not thrilled at being picked right off the bat, Kurono introduces himself and says that the reason he died was because of Kato. Upon hearing this, Kato accepts the blame and apologizes, as he was excited to see his friend again after so long and had assumed that he had wanted to help save the bum. Kurono can't believe that Kato would think that way and scoffs at his apology. Yamada then asks Kato to introduce himself, and he does, adding that he was "run over by a train". Kurono is surprised that Kato doesn't sound more remorseful for getting themselves killed and badmouths him in his head. Kato looks to the old man and tells him that its his turn, with Kurono thinking that he knows him from somewhere. The old man introduces himself as Goro Suzuki, who Kei remembers seeing on TV. Apparently, Suzuki was a politician before his succumbing to cancer and remarks that some of the others in the room may have heard of him. Looking up at Yamada, the teacher points to the blonde man, telling him to go next. However, the blonde guy refuses to give an introduction, telling Yamada to move on and asks if any of the others have cigarettes. In Kurono's mind, he gets annoyed at the blondie for making him look stupid for going along with Yamada's introductions and states that he looks like a girl. In any case, the green-haired boy introduces himself next; his name is Joichiro Nishi and he's in eighth grade. Apparently, he fell to his death. Kurono comments to himself that Nishi looks pretty creepy and wonders why he's staring at him so intently. The blonde guy speaks up and asks again if anyone's got a cigar. Yamada moves on to the man wearing the blue shirt, but gets no response. The man is seen sticking one of his fingers through a hole in his clothing, indicating that he may have been shot. Instead, the man with the white suit talks, stating that both he and the other man are yakuza and that's all they need to know. Accepting that, Yamada sees that everyone (except the dog, who obviously can't speak) has had a turn and sits down with the others. Kato asks Kei why he's changed so much since their childhood, saying that he remembers that the old Kei was more agile and brave, and how he was the leader of their group of friends (though Kurono admits that he had never known about this). Kato brings up how they would always play tag and how Kei was so fast while he was running and how he used to jump down entire flights of stairs in one go. In addition, Kato remembers how when a group of bullies had Kei cornered and that Kei jumped off a bridge and landed on the top of a passing truck. Kato had always wanted to be like Kei since those days, and since he didn't get high grades, he was sent to a school with dead-enders and delinquents. In order to cope with it, however, Kato modeled most of the things he did after Kei. Kei is surprised to hear this, shocked that it's his fault for Kato turning out the way he is today. They are soon brought out of it when something begins to materialize in front of them. Kato gets Kei's attention when he sees something appear in front of him. Yamada and the others are suprised that there is another one joining them and the blondie thinks that it's a girl. His guess proves to be right at the girl is materialized naked right in front of Kurono in a rather grotesque manner. Kato wonders aloud if this is how the two of them arrived in the room, but Kurono is too distracted by the girl in his lap to respond. Yamada, the blonde-haired man, and the dog walk over to them while Kurono tries and fails not to get a hard-on. Using his phone, the blonde man photographs the nude girl, musing on possibly posting these photos online at a later time. Kurono, not being able to contain it anymore, leans forward and kisses her, much to the disgust of blondie and Yamada's concern. Kurono attempts to explain away his actions, but Kato interrupts and sees that the girl's wrists are bleeding yet don't have any cuts, to which Yamada concludes that she must have killed herself in the bathtub. He asks if she's alive, which Kurono confirms after listening to her heart by leaning into her breasts, though Yamada states that Kurono could have checked her pulse at the wrist. The blonde-haired man states that they should get the girl off of Kurono before she suddenly awakens in his arms. She appears to not have completely realized her situation and is in a daze as a result. Kurono theorizes that she may think that she's dreaming. Suddenly, one of the yakuza, the bigger one wearing a blue shirt, grabs the barely conscious girl by her hand and tells the others to stay where they are. Kurono knows immediately what he's planning on doing, and the blonde guy smirks slightly, while Yamada trembles in fear. The other yakuza smirks while taking out some smokes, saying that his partner is "quite a guy". In the foyer, the yakuza begins to take off his pants in an attempt to rape the girl. She screams and resists while the blonde guy is upset that the suit-wearing yakuza had cigarettes the whole time and was holding out on him. Kato gets to his feet and tenses up again like in the subway, though Kurono points out that there's another gangster in the room. Regardless, Kato goes into the foyer to stop the rape from occuring, while blondie tries to no avail to stop him. Suzuki comments that it's hard to find a young man so brave these days, though Kei points out that he's not trying to help, the old man countering that he's in no condition to fight a yakuza, having just had cancer. With that, Kurono, Yamada, and the blonde guy hear Kato struggling with the yakuza and rush to the scene. Kato tries to push the gangster away, but the latter headbutts him and than slugs him hard in the stomach. In response, Kato grabs the yakuza's neck and strangles him, shouting at him to say that he won't try anything wrong again. Astounded at Kato's aggression, Kurono only watches until some odd music starts playing. The yakuza finally shoves Kato off of him and pushes the others away, returning to the room. Kato, having saved the girl, breathes heavily while Yamada, Kurono, and the blonde guy return to the room to find the source of the music that just started. It appears to come from the large black sphere sitting in the room's center. As Kurono ponders what it could mean, Nishi stands up and smirks as the ball displays some text. It reads: Your lives are now over, you bastards. What you do with your new lives is up for me to decide. So there you have it. Arc Navigation Category:Episodes